To understand yesterday’s joke, it is helpful to know how we use the preposition ‘on’.
We say: A program is ‘on’ TV – this means you can see the program on the screen.
Dust is ‘on’ the TV – this means the TV is dirty!
Here is joke 2
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, “I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.”
I bought her a scale. And then the fight started…
QUESTION: Do you get it?
Why is this joke funny?
2011 Highlights and Super Stars on Ask John English
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Hi Jhon,how are you?
I understood that “about” means: somethig to do with in, concerning,in this case a gift that the wife will, but means also “roughly” rough manner.
and he gifted her a scale for weight herself (0 kg from 150kg)
have a nice day
bye
HI Roberta. In the joke, the wife was “hinting about” what she wanted.
“hinting about” means she was not saying clearly what she wanted, but was giving some ideas…
Her hint was:
“I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.”
In English, this sentence usually means a fast (and expensive) car!
So she was hinting that she wanted a new car.
But the husband (not me!) bought her a scale instead.
So she got something that could do what she hinted at, but not what she wanted.
CHALLENGE: WRITE A SENTENCE OR TWO USING THE WORD ‘HINT’